Korean Job Discussion Forums

[goat]

Chinese migrating to Korea.

Has anyone else noticed all the Chinese people moving into Korea? I don't think it's only a tourist thing.

[World Traveler]

They're hoping to improve their quality of life.

The air pollution readings of China's capital city are 254- "very unhealthy".

http://aqicn.org/city/beijing/

In Seoul it is 170- merely "unhealthy".

http://aqicn.org/city/seoul/

___________________

Incidentally, in New York City- the financial capital of the world, it's 15- "good".

http://aqicn.org/city/newyork/

[goat]

Surely many will be applying for permenant residencey or citizenship.

[creeper1]

Haven't they always been there?

I mean low paying BBQ restaurants often have Chinese as waiters and waitresses.

It would be something new if the billionaires were moving.

Did you know that China now has more billionaires than America?

I've heard of them paying western girls ridiculous amounts of money to basically baby sit their kids.

Yeah. It's amusing to think of Seoul as a clean air destination but for Beijinger it is.

[goat]

[jvalmer]

[World Traveler]

[goat]

Jeju is going to crackdown on foreigners buying property. It's rumored, at the present rate of purchase, the island will be owned by Chinese.

[PRagic]

In the US at least, being 'a millionaire' isn't that big of a deal anymore, especially if that includes the total estate (e.g. home(s)). IF you start saving and investing early, and if you handle credit wisely, it's completely doable for most white collar professionals, technicians, and/or dual income families.

The sub-prime fiasco cut into a lot of wealth, but many recouped most, if not all, of their portfolio losses if they rode it out. For those over extended in property or in individual stocks, there was indeed some serious damage done, though.

My dad worked at GM and my mom worked only part time while we were being raised. Flex scheduling took priority over wages at that point so she didn't make much. She was a pharmacist, though, so she went full time when we were finishing HS, made a good salary, and retired from a state job with a good pension. We lost my dad too early (he was only 63), but their estate is worth ballpark 1.3-1.5 million. House was paid for eons ago. The end result is that between pensions and investments, my mom is totally comfortable. She says she can't spend the money the financial advisor tells her to spend annually.

To get there, though, there was a lot of saving and a lot of sacrifice. No fancy cars and thrifty vacations (without the kids lol). Huge amount of savings in food by buying bulk at the right time and storing at home in freezers and cellar pantry shelves. Rarely ate out. No allowances for kids, we worked. They didn't foot the bill for mine or my brothers' educations, either, but that was as much a life lesson thing as it was a financial decision.

But the statistics on just how LITTLE people sock away for retirement, particularly in the beginning of their careers, are shocking. In this respect, actually making it into the 'millionaire' ranks is laudable and it can make the difference between having to have a 'working retirement' and a comfortable retirement pulling in 70%80%+ of your final working salary depending on your pension benefits.

My brothers and I all took notes. Older brother paid of his house and has 2 million at work for him and the better half already. They can retire full on any time. Little brother still carries a mortgage, but he's on track to have that paid off with a comfortable million in the bank well before he reaches retirement age. He lost his wife this year, though, so he understandably is rethinking his priorities. Wouldn't wish that on anyone. Heart goes out to him. Us? We hit the million mark years ago, but take nothing for granted.

Now it's a matter of investing regularly and contributing X amount annually so that we're comfortably at the 2 million mark with a cushion to pay cash for a retirement place by the time I wrap up my career. The better half already retired. No, we don't HAVE to have that amount saved up and working for us, but it'd be nice to pull in 100K+ a year so that we can do whatever the hell we want, when we want. Time will tell if we make it. Even if we didn't invest another dime between now and the time I retire, though, we'd hit that magic million mark.

[edwardcatflap]

It's Mr Smug blowing his horn again to a virtually empty room.

[PRagic]

Not trying to be smug, just bored. But, yeah, it is an empty room.

[schwa]

[PRagic]

Dad worked at factory and died young.

Family sacrificed, saved, and invested.

Several people lost a lot during financial crisis. But it can be avoided.

Brothers and I worked from middle school. Paid for our own educations.

Stats say most don't save enough for retirement.

Here's how we're doing and how we did it.

If relating a story of some modicum of success from meager beginnings is bragging, guilty as charged. Someone posted a stat about millionaires in the US. I was bored and decided to write something related to that. Drive on....

[Coltronator]

Meager? You were Upper Middle class. Not rich but not meager. It was definitely a humble brag. Nothing wrong with what you did, great but also nothing wrong with others pointing it out.

[PRagic]

Totally cool when and if others post their reactions to anything written here. It's a chat board after all! We didn't go without growing up, but...

Believe me, we were NOT upper middle class. Folks leveraged everything to get us out of the city where they were both born and raised, and almost lost the house a few times over the years as a result, especially when my dad got laid off. My dad drove a car that had the floor boards rotted through, so we had to keep our feet on plywood so the gravel wouldn't fly up. Can't make this stuff up. One very happy day for the family is when they finally got a car that would start consistently in the winters.

But they built on what they had. Partially, they could concentrate on their retirement because all the kids were on the hook for their own educations and futures. No loans. No handouts. The only codicile was that you could live at home if, and only if, you were enrolled in school full time.

My dad's family was poor. Literally. He got booted from HS, went straight into the Marines, and then right into the factory after that. He always saw education as a key that opens doorways, and preferably a pathway away from a large blast forge. My mom was one generation away from that poor. She worked her way through college, marrying him just after graduating. He was a big proponent of marrying a smart woman.

At any rate, I'd say they were solidly middle class by the time we were in HS. As they earned more and had less overhead toward the ends of their careers, they then took it up a notch. They invested early and kept investing when and what they could, so the time value of money and an increase in property value took care of the rest.

But it's tough to shake old habits, so if you didn't have money coming up, it never gets easy to enjoy it when it's there. Funny, or ironic, but I see the same pattern repeating with my wife and I. Having lost my dad so early, though, I'm trying to get the better half to loosen the purse strings a bit and to smell the roses.